Have you wondered how life is for a cancer survivor? Is someone extremely close to you fighting cancer? Have you lost somebody to the disease? Then probably, you would want to read the story of this cancer survivor living in Mumbai. Featured on the popular Facebook page Humans of Bombay that documents the lives of people in Mumbai, she goes on to talk about how cancer has ceased to be a frightening life-taking disease for her, rather she now considers it a blessing.

According to the Facebook post, she was 49-year-old this January when she was detected with second stage breast cancer, this was despite being someone who always took care of her health. After she shifted to Mumbai for her treatment, she realised the disease made her understand things she wouldn’t have learnt otherwise, like acceptance, letting go of grudges, judgement, etc.

“Second stage breast cancer and me? I never expected it. I was only 49 this January when I was detected. I was shocked because I’m the kind of person who always took care of my health, whether it was eating healthy food, exercising or doing yoga. After receiving this news I shifted to my nephew’s house in Bombay for treatment. My daughter’s here, taking care of me through the treatment but I miss my husband and the rest of my family back in Amritsar. A few weeks ago, my doctor allowed me to travel back to Amritsar for a few days to stay with my husband…and I can’t express how happy I felt to just be back home with him.”

“What has this experience taught you?”

“I’ve stopped looking at Cancer as a disease — believe it or not, it’s been more of a blessing. It made me realise so many things I would have never learnt otherwise. Yes, in the beginning it was hard to digest and I did break down two or three times but the beauty of this journey unfolded itself to me when I started accepting and gladly accepting. Instead of wasting my energy on fighting it, I’ve embraced it and summoned the strength to recover. Cancer has taught me to accept, not just myself but others around me. I’ve let go of any grudges I’ve ever held, let go of any form of judgement. Everyone is fighting some battle or the other — cancer has taught me to respect the struggle of everyone around me and treat them with kindness.

More than anything, cancer has taught me to live. To understand that life is a celebration and that every day wasted complaining about trivial things, is a day less of feeling blessed to just be alive.”